Now that we are allowed to visit restaurants again the dishes I am most looking forward to are those that are very different from my own home cooking: a tasty Chinese banquet with a never-ending delivery of delicious dishes flowing from the kitchen to the table or maybe a fabulous, steamy curry, mouth-wateringly flavoursome with spicy chutney, naan bread and aromatic cardamom rice.

This lamb and spinach curry is very easy to prepare at home and it tastes even better the next day. Why not make it and get someone else to serve it to you. Refuse to do the dishes!

LAMB AND SPINACH CURRY

Ingredients

500g lamb shoulder

4 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 tablespoons ground coriander

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (1½ if you prefer a very hot curry)

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons natural yoghurt

4 tablespoons water

400g fresh spinach, shredded

450g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

40g fresh coriander

Squeeze lemon juice

Method

Trim the lamb of any excess fat and cut into 2-3 cm pieces.

Put in a bowl and add the grated ginger, garlic and ground coriander.

Mix everything together, cover and leave in the fridge for an hour or so.

Start cooking the curry. Pre-heat oven to 150C/Gas 3

Warm the oil in a large oven proof casserole and sauté the onions until transparent.

Add the marinated lamb, the turmeric, cayenne pepper and salt and cook on a medium heat, stirring until the lamb is browned all over.

Now add a tablespoon of yoghurt, stirring so that the lamb is well coated, and the yoghurt gradually melts to form the start of a sauce.

Add the rest of the yoghurt, a tablespoon at a time, stirring to absorb each time.

Add the 4 tablespoons of water to add some extra moisture.

Stir in the spinach.

Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for an hour or so until the lamb is tender. Check and stir halfway through adding a little more water if the sauce looks dry.

In the last 15 minutes, stir in the strained chickpeas and cook so they start to take on the flavour of the spices.

Finally add a good squeeze of lemon juice which sours the flavour of the yogurt a little to sharpen the taste.

When ready to serve sprinkle over the chopped fresh coriander.

Serve with steamed basmati rice, thick fluffy naan bread and lots of spicy lime pickle chutney.